Friday, July 12, 2013

Friday beaver is sad

(Okay he looks dead because he is)

Loc Megantic

One half the downtown core of the small town is wiped off the face of the earth and the owner shows up days later to give an interview. When asked about the details and for an apology he shows little emotion and at times seems to joke about the situation shrugging his shoulders. When asked about how much he was worth he somewhat jokingly said "much less than I was the other day". How cruel and seemingly uncaring an individual can be after one of Canada's biggest train accidents. It's mind boggling.

The truly sad aspect of the tragedy is that people literally vanished from the face of the earth in a mere few seconds. I have personally worked inside of oil tanks that size and can only imagine the fright those people must have felt in that town. In my case there was about 30 gallons of "product" left in the tank. One spark and the right conditions and I would have been burnt toast. But for the people of that town they had to stand and watch an event that could not be stopped. Once the train cars caught fire the fuse was lit and there was no way to stop it.

I guess you could call me something of a worry wart. I always try to consider the what ifs in dangerous situation. I credit that with keeping me alive the last 20 years or so. Not that I haven't made mistakes but the ones I've made were minor. I guess my greatest fear is forgetting some minor but important detail and to date I have been lucky in that respect. But this isn't just about some worker making an error, it's about an entire corporate culture that puts profits above safety. Those at the top may tout how they keep everybody safe but in the background they turn their heads when rules are broken and safety is ignored. It's not until someone is caught that blame is laid and it's never on the higher ups who created the culture in the first place. The boys at the bottom get pats on the back when production is increased by less than honest means but whoa to him who gets caught breaking the rules trying to beat that production schedule.

For Canada this was an accident waiting to happen. The company had one of the worst safety records and yet was given special permission to run tanker cars that carried the oil. Corporate leaders focus on the costs of regulations and what it does to the bottom line yet somehow forget the greater costs when the worst case scenario happens. A few dollars off the bottom line can be far cheaper than the loss of life and the damage that happened in that small town. A very sad day for a small town.

That was a hell of a wreck and no need for it at all. Always the little guy, whether it is train wrecks, drug deals or torture in Iraq. The big guys are untouchable. Not much has changed since they invented civilization.

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